


Watch

by jackscrutchie



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Mutual Pining, Pining, Short, Writer's Block, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 09:19:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11033265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackscrutchie/pseuds/jackscrutchie
Summary: Crutchie likes to watch.





	Watch

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is horrid -- I'm fighting off writer's block right now.

Crutchie loved to watch.

He liked to watch people smile, and loved to watch people laugh. His friend’s happiness was his own. He liked to see couples walk down the streets holding hands. He loved seeing puppies roll in the grass at the park. He loved watching his friends play cards and make bets on silly things. He liked watching people hug. He’d even seen a man get down to one knee, asking a pretty girl to marry him. She cried. Crutchie smiled and couldn’t help but congratulate them, his own eyes teary. They both hugged him. They gave him a dime.

He liked to watch Davey scold Les for doing something he considered dangerous. He liked watching Les laugh and pout at Davey in return. He liked to watch Race chew on his cigar when he was thinking. He liked to see Spot touch the small of Race’s back when he thought no one could see. He liked to see Spot be softer and sweeter than he liked to let on. Crutchie loved to watch Finch play target practice with his slingshot. He was getting really good. Crutchie always made sure to cheer him on. He loved watching Elmer tell stories and Buttons talk about his brothers and sisters. He even liked to watch the Delancey brothers get upset about silly little things.

He loved watching the clouds move by in the sky on a sunny day. He loved finding pictures in them. An elephant, a house, a dog – Once, he found a cloud that looked like his crutch. Crutchie liked watching the wind blow the trees and loved to watch people pick flowers to give to the ones they loved. He loved seeing birds flying high. He loved watching the stars at night. Every time he saw one fall, he made a wish because that’s what Jack had told him to do. He wished for everyone to be safe and happy. He wished his leg would get better. He wished to stay friends with the boys for forever. He wished Jack would stay with him.

Jack –

Crutchie loved to watch Jack. He loved to watch him sell his papers. Despite all the years they had known each other, he was always learning new things from Jack. From the time he first started selling, until now – Jack was always giving him and the others tips on selling a bad headline. He had such a way with people and a way with words…

He loved watching Jack paint. He cherished every moment that he got to see his brush glide onto canvas at Medda’s theater. He adored watching the charcoal leave dark lines over a day old pape. He loved the way Jack could stay so focused on his art. Nothing could snap him out of that little world he would create for himself when he drew. Crutchie loved seeing how he would get lost in the colors and shading. He could sit and watch Jack paint for hours.

Most of all, Crutchie liked to watch Jack smile. He liked to watch Jack flirt. He loved to see that cocky grin when he was trying to win someone’s heart or their bed for the night. He liked to see Jack happy. So long as Jack was happy, Crutchie could be happy. Right?

Crutchie watched Jack grow close to Davey. He watched him grow close to Katherine. He watched Jack grow away from him. But he smiled, because Jack smiled. His heart ached.

After Jack and Katherine decided they would be better as friends, Crutchie loved watching them bicker with each other. He loved watching Katherine hold hands with Davey’s sister, Sarah. He cherished watching Davey watch Jack – Then quickly looking away before Jack could notice. Crutchie did it too, after all. It was all okay. As long as Jack was happy. He watched Jack laugh, he watched and comforted Jack when he cried – He loved watching him talk about Santa Fe. He loved watching him watch the same stars they looked up at together… He loved watching him sing, loved watching the way he shifted his hat throughout the day. He loved watching Jack’s mouth, wondering what it would be like to… Yeah right. What a silly notion.

He loved watching Jack.

Crutchie watched a lot. Crutchie watched so much that he never noticed being watched. He never noticed Jack’s eyes on him. He didn’t know Jack liked watching, too. He didn’t know that Jack liked to watch the way his eyes lit up when he watched him paint. Crutchie didn’t know that Jack told him to watch the sky for falling stars because he wanted to see the moon shine down on his face. Crutchie didn’t know that Jack cherished every single moment he wore a smile. He didn’t know that Jack thought his smile shined brighter than the sun. He didn’t know Jack thought his laugh and voice were musical. He didn’t know that whenever he cried, Jack was dying on the inside. He didn’t know that Jack watched him watching, just so he could count the freckles on his face.

He didn’t know that Jack loved watching him.


End file.
